Talland Church Headstones

Records of Headstones, Tombs, and Slates at Talland Church

Paul Nicholas 1721-1787

Ledger Stone 25

~ Slate ~ Fragment showing just part of a name in an elegant slender Roman script. Details transcribed from a Will of local Alderman & Mayor of East Looe Paul Nicholas and the birth registration of his son, a Paul Harris Nicholas – has led to the following information, and consequently their immediate family tree.

~ Orientation ~ North/South ~ North Aisle ~ 12 x 29cm // 5″ x 11″

  • Paul Nicholas (1696-1752) & Elizabeth Mellow (1698-1750) married at Talland 17 June 1717
    • their son-Paul Nicholas married Martha Harris at St. Martin’s on Looe Bay 23 January 1752
      • their son-Paul Harris Nicholas (1753-1788)
        • Married Sarah Kingston (-1784), St Martin’s 15 May 1777
        • Married Ann Blake (1760-), St Martin’s 2 February 1786, as a widower
        • Buried, at Talland Church, 19 May 1787, aged 34years of East Looe.

On his marriage application in 1752, and on his will, written in 1779, Paul Nicholas (1721-1787) declared himself a Felt-maker (his grand-father Abel, had been a Hatter and his father-in-law a Merchant); he became an Alderman and 1775 Mayor of East Looe. He married Martha Harris (1724-1763), daughter of Nicholas (1688-1756) & Loveday (née Cogger) (1688-1725) Harris, of East Looe, at St Martin’s Church in East Looe on 23 January 1752. Each of their three sons married three sisters. Paul Harris Nicholas (1753-1788) = Anne Blake (1760-). Nicholas Harris Nicholas (1756-1816) = Phillis Blake (1758). John Harris Nicholas (1758-1844) = Margaret Blake (1762-1852).

I Paul Nicholas of the borough of East Looe in the county of Cornwall …..

I give and bequeath unto my son Paul Harris Nicholas my silver soup spoon and my silver tankard with a cover ….. and also my two ….. volumes of Smith’s Annotations on the Bible

I give and bequeath unto my son Nicholas Harris Nicholas my silver pint mug and also the sum of fifty pounds…

I give and bequeath unto my son John Harris Nicholas my silver half pint mug and also the sum of fifty pounds …

I give and bequeath unto my Granddaughter Frances Nicholas my shallow silver dish with a … handles

I give and bequeath unto my Granddaughter Loveday Nicholas my silver beaker with two handles and my silver spoon boat.

… all the rest of my silver spoons and all other my vessels and utensils of silver…. I do give and bequeath unto my two daughters Elizabeth and Martha Nicholas … (they also receive endowments).

part of the Will of Paul Nicholas written in 1779. Probate 15 May 1787

Paul Harris Nicholas son of Paul Nicholas son of the late Paul Nicholas & Elizabeth his wife and of Martha daughter of Nicholas and Loveday Harris all of East Looe was born the 13th day of the 11 month called November 1753 about half after 8 o’clock in the morning

England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage & Death Register 1578-1837
The Rev. Samuel Smith D.D the ‘Author of the Annotations’ 1735

The Protestant family of Nicolas was originally from France. Due to the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, the grand father of Paul Nicholas, Abel Nicolas, fled from Brittany, settling in East Looe, Cornwall, as a merchant. It was the 3rd son of Paul Nicholas, Captain John Harris Nicholas, who reverted from the anglicised spelling of their surname and regained the pedigree and ancient coat of arms of the family of Nicolas. The lineage produced descendants that played prominent roles and served with great distinction in the British Army and Royal Navy.

  • Located at St Martin’s Church, East Looe
    • sons of Paul Nicholas
  • Nicholas Harris Nicholas 1756-1816
  • John Harris Nicholas 1758-1844
    • sons of John Harris Nicholas
  • John Toup Nicolas 1788-1851
  • William Keigwin Nicolas
  • Nicholas Harris Nicolas 1799-1848
    • sons of John Toup Nicolas
  • Busvarcus Toup Nicolas 1819-1859
  • Beville Granville Wyndham Nicolas 1829-1879
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